Brooks, 31, also wrestles under the name Carlos and has fought all over the UK and in the US. He said the club played a vital role in the community.

“It helps young people who are not doing anything get off the street,” he said.

“The training keeps them busy, keeps them out of trouble. We have beginner classes. Anybody over the age of 16 can start. We also do seminars and open days.” And Brooks said there were signs of a growing interest in the sport once more.

“I’ve had lots of great matches with lots of great opponents,” he said.

“We’ve had attendances of around 600 people.

“They are small shows but they have been going from strength to strength. In the next couple of years we want to get back to town hall venues that will hold a lot more people.”

Asked whether the wrestling is real, Brooks said: “It’s as real as it gets. It is entertainment at the end of the day. It’s exactly the same [as WWE wrestling].

“The only thing we don’t have is all the pyrotechnics and production value, but the style and everything about it is exactly the same.”

Earlier this month, wrestling was reinstated as an Olympic sport for Tokyo 2020 – to Brooks’s delight.“I know a lot of professional wrestlers were upset that it was taken out in the first place,” he said. “A lot of British wrestlers are very happy that it’s back, myself included.”